


Will You ( Yes or No )

by akingman



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, proposal, tbh rlly ooc, yeeee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 12:44:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20228056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akingman/pseuds/akingman
Summary: Andrew makes a big decision and wonders if Neil will run. He doesn't.





	Will You ( Yes or No )

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hello, this was written at 1am when I got a centimeter of serotonin for the first time in months! 2k words later of thought vomit and this is the outcome. I wanted angst but I needed a happy ending because.. yknow.. this is andreil. They're happy.

“Why?” Neil asked sounding breathless. “You’ve never lied to me before. Why now? Why are you lying to me?”

Andrew was staring into his eyes. His shoulders were straight but tense. His jaw stretched to ease the evident discomfort building in his expression. He was a silent figure standing in the middle of the kitchen and Neil could see right through his act. He wasn’t sure why Andrew was putting up a front at all. He could feel his father’s temper rising. It was like a wave of nausea and anger at once crashing over his already fragile state. It almost moved him but Andrew’s gaze was grounding. Whatever reason he had for lying it must be important. Their whole relationship built on trust and truth. For years the foundation grew and grew until it molded them together like pieces of clay. This wasn’t something that could break them. He knew nothing could break Andrew more than running away. 

So why exactly was Andrew running away?

“It’s not my problem if you’re sticking your nose in something you aren’t supposed to see.” Andrew replied. He said it as if this conversation was another fight to their history or a crack in their perfect new life. “If I wanted you involved you would know. I didn’t survive all those years by myself to have someone take care of me. We are big boys, Abram, and I need my time,” he said stressing the “my”. 

“I’m not stupid enough to believe what bullshit is coming out of your mouth, Andrew,” Neil spit out. His fists clenched at his sides and his tongue probing the side of his cheek. He bit down on his tongue, a warning to not react. Andrew was trying to get a rise out of him. “Tell me. Whatever it is you’re worried about, tell me.”

“I can’t.” Andrew started and then shook his head to clear it, “I won’t. I’m not scared. I’m not worried,” he wagged some of his fingers on one hand to dismiss Neil’s accusation. “I’m in the middle of a decision process that does not concern you. Until and-” he paused to give his words effect, “If- if I decide to involve you, you will know.” Andrew moved past Neil and went into the bedroom. 

It took a minute or two before Neil appeared at the bedroom door with his arms crossed. He watched Andrew stuff clothes into a black duffel bag. It was one that Neil had bought them the third year they’d been dating. Andrew had seen it and cast Neil a subtle smile at the inside joke between them and Neil went back to buy it that day. 

Neil saw a small box outlining a velvet red pouch and felt both his heart and stomach drop. His heart-rate sped up and he held a hand over his chest to feel the pounding of it, to let himself know he was breathing. 

“Andrew,” he said but Andrew kept packing. He hadn’t heard or seen Neil follow him in and Neil’s reaction to the box made him pack faster. Andrew had the bag almost completely zipped before he tried for the door. Neil of course was blocking his exit. 

“We should talk about this,” Neil said still slack-jawed. His heart was an irregular rate and he couldn’t tell if it was happiness or fear. Happiness came from the fact that Andrew did want to be with Neil forever. That silly tradition could mean something, that it could mean something for them both. Andrew liked deals, he liked making sure he had control and could keep someone safe at arms length. Andrew had grown from possessiveness over the years but this was something different. Words were always nothing between them. It was the actions that mattered and the fact that Andrew had gone out and gotten a ring at all was action enough. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Andrew said and used his arm to bat at Neil’s arms to move him. “Yet. Didn’t you hear me say it was a work in progress?”

Neil seemed hurt but stood his ground. “Andrew, do you think you’ll regret this?”

Andrew waved at him again, more flap than wave and kicked at Neil’s bare foot. “Move,” he said in warning. The next kick wouldn’t be as friendly. 

“There is no regret and I’m not the one whose going to bail out,” Andrew replied. His eyes seemed further away and Neil knew he was digging into dangerous territory. There were always gears working in Andrew’s head and Neil wasn’t always sure how to understand them. There were parts of them they still didn’t get, but they’d been trying. 

“Andrew, I wouldn’t-”

“You would,” Andrew said as if it were the truth. And it was. Always in the back of his mind, Neil was ready to run. He had changed his name, gone off with the foxes and graduated with them. He’d gone to therapy despite his lack of interest but because it would be healthy for him and Andrew. He’d gotten cats and moved in with Andrew into a nice apartment and won Gold at the Olympics. But sometimes he was so tired he missed the days when he and his mother were back to back. When he woke up in survival mode and felt every years past on his legs and arms and wanted to curl up and disappear. 

When his legs wanted to stop carrying him home, because in the back of his head there was a “what if”. Andrew was definite, real and he wasn’t going anywhere. But Neil loved to run. 

“I’m staying with Renee for a while so make sure the cats don’t die.” And that was Andrew’s leave. 

\---- 

Neil called with no call back until two days later. He was hovering over left overs and sitting in the living room. Looking at the wall without actually seeing it. His phone buzzed on the table and he reached for it out of instinct but fear crept up quicker than the relief did. He knew Andrew could take care of himself and that Renee would be there for him. Neil had never felt so alone before now. Not even the time he spent on his own without his mother at his side. Not after he’d seen the other foxes off to their new futures and families. 

He held up the phone chipped and worn by years of use. He reveled in the way it filled him with a feeling he couldn’t put a name to. It came to him when he woke up and saw it on the bedside table right beside Andrew’s. The ring-tones changed because Andrew hated cliches. 

The phone blinked with a white dot signaling a new message. The screen lit up the background that showed their two cats curled up against each other on the sofa. He waited a moment to see if there was another text and opened the phone to see that Renee had only sent one line. 

‘Not yet.’

Neil shut the phone and shut down. 

\---

A week later and the house is a mess. Neil is use to being on the run and not having many dishes to use or clean but the kitchen sink filled to the top. He hated ordering out so he asked Kevin to bring over groceries. Neil didn’t think it was a fight, or it was because it was different than all the other fights. This was something that he had to let Andrew figure out on his own but Neil felt useless sitting at home and sulking. He didn’t want to run in fear that his feet would bring him to a bus that would take him to the nearest airport. He fought against going to Renee’s to get Andrew but found that would be selfish. He deserved to be selfish but he didn’t want to take this away from Andrew. He trusted Andrew to know the answer. 

He moved to the couch when he had nightmares where his father’s bloodied hand reached up from a basement floor. It wrapped around his ankle while the other held a cleaver that swung up and down on his legs. There were sounds of bones cracking and screams that didn’t sound like his. Some nights he wanted to call Andrew and woke up to his fingers tightly grasping his phone. He forced himself back into a blank slate. He fell asleep some time later to the sound of the cats purring beside him. 

Three days after that Renee showed up at their apartment door with Andrew behind her. He was wearing a coat Niel had bought him one Christmas. It reminded him of the one Nicky had gotten them both freshman year. He looked tired but otherwise unaffected as usual. He stood behind Renee but moved past her to move into the apartment and Neil felt the bag brush his side. 

Neil stood there and stared at Renee and felt self conscious of the stain on his shirt. Sir came up to his leg and rubbed against him while Renee’s smile did nothing but make him itch. 

“Renee, it’s good the see you,” he said and cleared his throat when he realized how scratchy it was. 

“It’s good to see you too, Neil. It’s been a while.” 

Neil nodded and looked over his shoulder. “Take good care of him?” 

“Kevin didn’t take care of you?” Renee asked. 

“Wymack,” Neil said rather than denying that he was a total wreck. 

Renee hummed at that. Even though exy was no longer the center of their universe, they still kept in contact with everyone. A fox was always a fox. “He’s putting up a strong fight and Kevin's taking good care of him.”

Neil heard Andrew shuffling in the bedroom and doors being closed and opened. 

“I’ll leave you to it,” Renee said and squeezed Neil’s arm in support. “I’m watching Allison’s daughter today.”

“Good luck,” Neil said and shut the door as she retreated. 

He turned to see Andrew standing in the living room with an aghast look. 

“At least the cats are alive,” he huffed. 

“I tried to get the cats to wash the dishes but." Neil shrugged. 

Andrew rolled up the sleeves to his turtleneck. Still an odd choice in August, and moved into the kitchen to get started on the dishes. Neil wasn’t sure if he wanted to lie back down or attempt to help. His body felt like cement and he wasn’t sure how he was still standing, or how his mouth was able to keep moving. 

“Did you decide?” Neil asked. He stood still and tried to keep his voice calm. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Andrew said and turned to put a wet dish on the drying rack. He added an unnecessary amount of dish soap on top of the pile and went back to scrubbing. 

Neil marveled at the sight of Andrew’s arms and felt the need to trace his fingers along them. It took a long time for Andrew to put them on display. Some days he wore jackets despite the heat . The nightmares ticked him to a point. While drinking heavily Andrew had said, "It feels like I'm in a crowd of hundreds of people and I'm the only one nude. They're trying to grab me." 

Now Andrew went most days without his armbands. They were still tucked away under their pillows where they knew they could find it. The bands meant something much more and Neil wore them in support to Andrew’s bad days.

“I do.”

Andrew stopped moving for a moment before yanking a few sheets of paper towels off the roll beside him. Neil watched him as he dried. Andrew sighed as if Neil was being difficult and turned towards Neil’s still form. It was late but not too late and they could hear the upstairs neighbor’s kid running across wood floors. 

Andrew moved towards Neil and Neil didn’t move. He needed to know the answer. He knew his own. He wouldn’t run, ever, not from this. Not from Andrew or tough days or lazy mornings and cats curled around his legs. He wouldn’t, he wouldn’t, he wouldn’t. 

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked with clenched teeth. This was big, Neil could feel it. 

“What?”

“Yes,” Andrew repeated, “Or no.”

Neil reached out with one hand and Andrew let it fall into his. Neil couldn’t care less about the sweat on his palm or the smell he was emitting. Right now he felt safe with Andrew. 

“Yes.”


End file.
